Cabbies Sign Up to Be Stopped and Searched

Although cabbies are notoriously hateful of delays, hundreds are reportedly volunteering to be pulled over by police following the murders of four livery drivers in as many months. The recently reinvigorated Operation Safe Cab program gives drivers a decal to display on their window, alerting cops that they have consented to be stopped and have their passengers and car searched at any time. Drivers and police believe the sticker warning of random searches “might be a deterrent to troublemakers.” But considering what little attention cops pay to blatant lawbreakers, it might just be an empty threat. |NYT|

Image via Fox

By Will Sherman on September 1, 2009 at 10:50 am
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After accumulating 45 suspensions on the drivers license she’s never had, a Detroit woman was finally arrested by Michigan police. Renee Lashon Beavers, another criminal who should find a new hobby, was jailed after being pulled over driving a stolen car with a 24-ounce can of beer in hand. |Chicago Tribune|

By Will Sherman on August 28, 2009 at 12:22 pm
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A NYPD officer ran a red light on Queens Boulevard, hitting a man trying to cross the street, according to witnesses. Police claim the officer had a green light, despite multiple accounts to the contrary, and attempt to blame the seriously injured victim, saying he was drunk. |NYDN|

By Will Sherman on August 28, 2009 at 10:48 am
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New York City motorists, the country’s “angriest and most aggressive” drivers, commit about three potentially life-taking traffic violations every minute with nary a ticket. A recent study by Transportation Alternatives blames the NYPD’s lack of traffic enforcement for emboldening drivers to brazenly break the law. |NYP|

By Will Sherman on August 25, 2009 at 10:22 am
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After less than a week, the “Cash for Clunkers” rebate program is out of money. Billed as an environmentally friendly effort, the program attempted to prop up the dying auto industry by paying people $3,500 to $4,500 to trade in their old cars for ones with better fuel economy, even if the improvement was just a mere four miles per gallon. |NYT|

By Will Sherman on July 31, 2009 at 11:50 am
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Zipcar Promo Encourages Sidewalk Traffic

Zipcar’s street team was out this morning harassing pedestrians with faux traffic tickets for “slow motion travel”. The car-sharing service set up a radar detector displaying the walking speed of passersby and a big sign telling them, ”You’d Get There Faster In a Zipcar.” The ticket contained a promotional discount to encourage pedestrians to take up driving, presumably down the sidewalk since they have no shot at getting to their walking destination any faster through New York gridlock. |PSFK|

Images via PSFK

By Will Sherman on July 30, 2009 at 6:34 pm
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Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn highlights the neighborhood nightmare that Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project is creating, even before any real construction begins. A Pacific Street sidewalk was turned into a traffic lane with little or no signage to warn the befuddled pedestrians and drivers attempting to navigate the dangerous “traffic mitigation” mess. |Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn|

By Will Sherman on July 29, 2009 at 2:00 pm
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Anatomy of An Asinine Ass Ad

This is a new UK ad for the SEAT Altea XL—an ergonomic Spanish family car. But SEAT UK communications manager Rob Taylor desperately wants to change the vehicle’s image into a sexy fuck-mobile for English parents. Really Rob?

We really wanted the campaign to carry some of the ‘SEATTITUDE’ that we believe runs right through our sporty Spanish brand. Opting for a slightly risqué style does just that, and shows SEAT drivers really have a lust for life!

SEAT-TI-TUDE. As explained at the Inspiration Room, those bare seats—and every other detail in the ad—were painfully groupthinked, including the barely discernable bra, which the 20-member production team felt needed to be “neither too sexy, nor too ‘comfortable.’” This is what happens when marketing controls creative: copy (click ad) that reads like an internal memo, and an ad that looks like a sell sheet. It’s bad car ad week on ANIMAL. |Image : The Inspiration Room|

By Copyranter on July 23, 2009 at 11:47 am
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Nissan Bravely Mocks Blenders & Vacuums



Let’s see: what other motorized devices is a Nissan vehicle badder-ass than? Golf carts? An electric toothbrush? The Roomba? Yes, there is a REASON no one dreams of their first fucking vacuum cleaner. That’s because—stay with me here—vacuum cleaners fucking suck because they are used to fucking clean, and cleaning fucking sucks. Am I warm, TBWA Toronto (the creators of this absolutely mind-boggling Canadian campaign)? And what’s with the fucking annoying line break on the bus ad? At least a bus is something else besides a Nissan that is driven on roads. Yep. if I was in the market for a sports car, I’d definitely chose a Nissan over a fucking bus. |Images: AdsOfTheWorld|

By Copyranter on July 21, 2009 at 11:26 am
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A new law takes aim at distracted drivers, banning motorists from text messaging and using other electronic devices, when it goes into effect this November. But unlike the state’s driver cell phone ban, police can only issue the extra $150 fine if a motorist is breaking another law as well, which only diminishes the law’s value to improve safety on the road. |NYP|

By Will Sherman on July 17, 2009 at 10:10 am
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